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In Moscow, it was like Christmas, Easter, and New Year’s all rolled into one. In a gushing readout of his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the immediate start of negotiations about the future of Ukraine—without preconditions or other countries at the table. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and any chance of a return to the country’s internationally recognized borders, fulfilling two key Russian conditions. On the same day, the U.S. Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard, whose talking points often align with Kremlin propaganda, as the next director of...

Senator Richard Blumenthal condemned Hegseth’s message, calling it a "surrender & betrayal" of Ukraine. Blumenthal, who has made six visits to Ukraine during its fight against Russia, argued that the message amounted to abandoning Ukraine and undermining the security of European allies. .. Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, wrote: "Today, President Trump called our enemy, Russia, before calling our ally, Ukraine."

Polish democracy champion and former President Lech Walesa says a victory by Republican Donald Trump in this year's U.S. presidential election would bring “misfortune” to the world. Walesa said in a short entry on Facebook on Sunday that he does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, but that the matter “is too important for the world” for him to withhold his views. “I deeply believe that Americans will vote responsibly. In my opinion, I am completely convinced that Trump’s election WOULD BE A MISFORTUNE FOR THE U.S. AND THE WORLD,” he wrote, using all capital letters. He...

The Estonian army is preparing for a possible war with Russia in cooperation with NATO. The country may strike at Russian territory if Moscow prepares to attack the Alliance. Major General Vahur Karus, Chief of the General Staff of the Estonian Defence Forces, said this in an interview with ERR, Censor.NET reports . "We can no longer wait to be hit over the head with a sledgehammer, but we must be the ones who can do certain things first," Karus said. According to the general, before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia expected that its army would be able to...

A cease-fire proposal seemingly aimed at splintering Western unity has instead been met with Western escalation, underscoring Moscow’s diplomatic struggles. ...Analysts typically share this view, saying that such proposals tend to come when a pause would most benefit Russia’s battlefield position, not when they might further peace talks or aid civilians. Sure enough, even as President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia promised a unilateral pause in some areas, there was little indication of such on the ground, where fighting continued as normal. This offer was also probably intended as an act of propaganda, aimed at the Russian public and particularly...

In addition to the military-imposed destruction since the invasion, Akhmetov, and his fellow billionaires saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enact a "de-oligarchization" bill in late 2021 that put people in their positions exposed to extra governmental checks on business transactions and were banned from donating to political parties. Zelenskyy, who ran his presidential campaign with anti-corruption as a top issue, said that the individuals were, "a group of people who think they are more important than lawmakers, government officials or judges."